The Misadventures Of Lucas And Maya As Roommates
by tiramisuspice
Summary: She needed a roommate who could pay rent. He needed a place to stay until he got his own. It was convenient. It was also a complete frickin' disaster.
1. New Roomies

**Hey guys. Why did I start this new story? Well, this has been a request a long time coming. This is a series of little oneshots/moments of Lucas and Maya as housemates based off of the moments from… YOU GUESSED IT, the 'Prospective Roommate' letters they both wrote. Some of you requested the scenes mentioned from each of their comments as a story for a while now, and the idea has been playing in my mind for a while, so I thought why the heck not. I'm on break in about two weeks anyway, so why not start this random series. But before I continue, I would like to point out that this will be updated** ** _sporadically_** **and I do mean sporadic (probably like SAH sporadic). As in, I will update this whenever I really feel like it and this is essentially a filler story to appease you guys when my multichaptered stories aren't updated in a while. It's a story, but it'll function as a series of standalone oneshots too.**

 **In addition, I am posting this story because there will be no other story updates for the majority of this week due to my loaded schedule. There might be one or two, perhaps if I find some time, but other than that, the rest of this week, I won't be around due to other commitments. I'm sorry to do that! And I hate being away from writing Lucaya for too long (I get some pretty fierce withdrawal symptoms) but this is necessary because I have to ace this term and that requires more focus on school and less on Lucaya, the love of my life *cries ugly tears***

 **So adieu, my loves! I'll miss you!**

 **(PS: Riley's boyfriend is as of yet undetermined, so vote for whoever you want to be said boyfriend and I'll make majority dude happen in this story.)**

 **Rated T for Terrible Fucking Roommates**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, buuuuuuuuut I do love tiramisu! That has to count for something, right?**

* * *

Katy had always warned Maya that rooming with Riley was bound to end in tragedy.

Not tragedy of the morbid kind.

More like a dreadful turn of events in which her best friend and the roommate she'd had for eight years since college moved out of their shared, cozy (and _very_ expensive) Soho apartment to go live with her longtime boyfriend now that they were engaged.

Maya hadn't thought much of it at the time when they'd graduated from college with their diplomas in their hands and bright, sparkly ambitions in their eyes to make the most out of their lives as adults. They were finally free to live as they wanted to, out of the reach of their parents. Maya had dreams of establishing her own art gallery one day; Riley was fascinated with outer space, though neither of them knew particularly how to start achieving their dreams at the time.

But they'd made it. _Together_.

Maya had a small gallery now, well known within a certain group and scene in the city and only growing more popular and famous with each passing day. She had a steady flow of clientele and devoted patrons, and a fairly stable line of requests for art. Her gallery sold enough pieces and other merchandise per week that she wasn't struggling on her end of the rent, and though Riley had to pay for graduate school, she had a good job as a student teacher at Columbia and was well on her way to establishing her future as a possible professor of astronomy. They were set. They had made it. And Maya knew they were well on their way to growing old together in their apartment, happy and successful.

Which was why when Riley dropped the news that her boyfriend proposed and she was moving out, something in Maya's mind had shattered. Maybe not that dramatically, but there was definitely something that broke inside her. A fantasy that she had hoped would play out for life was taken away almost mercilessly.

It wasn't that she was mad at Riley or unhappy that she was finally moving on with her life. It was just the thought of losing her best friend to another man that made Maya melancholic. The fact that Riley was growing up and continuing her life. The fact that Maya felt like she was being left behind.

Maya, by principal based on her and her mother's past, was against marriage, so she'd always been fairly in tune with her indifference towards sex and relationships. She didn't really _do_ relationships. Infrequently anyway. But Riley had always been ready to be married since she'd met her one when they were young. Maya had always seen it as inevitable for Riley; she just hadn't wanted to think about it nor had she wanted to consider the possibility that Riley truly had grown up. That she truly was ready to go to the next step of her life: marriage and family. And that meant for Maya, that she either moved onto that next step with Riley or got left behind.

And that was when Maya understood why her mother said rooming with Riley would be tragic. Because now Maya realized just how tragically different they had actually envisioned their futures. Maya had known Riley would get married; she had just never thought Riley would _leave._ Maya only needed a few people in her life, Riley especially, to be happy. Riley clearly needed more, because she'd chosen her fiancé and a brand new family over Maya.

So now Maya was left with a gaping hole in her heart and a gaping hole in her apartment and an _unfortunate_ gaping hole in monthly rent to pay for the lease for this damn apartment.

Maya had been told multiple times by Katy to give up the expensive apartment and move into a cheaper one in a less expensive part of town, but Maya couldn't do it. Their little Soho apartment was special. She'd lived there for five years and built a life with Riley there. They'd grown up and become adults in that apartment. They'd struggled to find themselves and their futures in that apartment. There was no flippin' way she could ever dare or dream of giving up the place she'd spent so many years in. The sentimental value was too high. The emotional repercussions of giving up this apartment were too high.

Riley had suggested finding a new roommate, and though Maya hated the idea of having to share Riley and her sacred space with an outsider, she knew she wouldn't be able to afford the apartment on her own, even with the growing success of her art gallery.

Which was why Maya had found herself sitting on her couch, interviewing person after person after person after person to see if they would work as a potential roommate.

It was pure torture. The sheer amount of idiots she'd had to talk to were bordering on multiple decades worth of amounts. College students who wanted to use the rooftop garden Riley had created to grow marijuana, fake hipsters who thought living in Soho made them automatically gain hipster cred, people who'd only shown up to meet her and get her autograph. And her _personal_ favourite: the woman obsessed with Twilight who'd tried to take a bite out of her arm as soon as Maya wasn't paying attention, claiming that she could help her "see the light".

(Maya would forever thank her mother for forcing her to take self-defense classes all through high school. Let's just say that vampire chick wouldn't be biting into people's arms anymore).

But despite the very many people she'd interviewed that were crazy and absolute, definite no's, even the decent ones she didn't want to room with. Even the ones with stable jobs and incomes who were friendly and had skills and assets to better their life and environment as roommates—even those people—Maya had major reservations allowing them to become her new apartment renter.

She knew it was because she absolutely didn't want to give up Riley's room, and maybe she was being petty by comparing every one of the applicants to Riley and shucking them from the list for not matching up with all of her best friend's qualities, but could you blame Maya? She and Riley were married; married since that fateful day when they were in kindergarten and Riley fell off the monkey bars and landed on Maya and they both knocked out their front teeth.

It was hard for Maya to consider who to replace the spot Riley had filled in her home for all this time. To consider who could have the same schedule the way hers and Riley's worked so well. To consider whose mannerisms and ways of living could align well with Maya's the way Riley's had.

And Maya honestly didn't really want to search for that person.

As the days went by and Maya continued to interview potential candidates, she began to realize no one would ever interest her. And the more she realized that, the more she began to realize that there would be absolutely no one to take that place Riley had left. And the more she realized that, the more she knew she would keep rejecting applicants.

Honestly, by the last day, it made her wonder if it would just be best if she really did just move to a new apartment.

~.~.~

Maya stared at the clock on the wall, watching as the minute hand moved another minute closer to four. Another minute closer to the end of her search for good. She didn't know what she was honestly waiting for. It didn't seem like there would be anyone else showing up that day.

She stood up from the couch, sighing and cracking her stiff joints, deciding to just end it. Call it quits.

"Guess it's time to make some decisions..."

She would do it later tonight. Right now, Maya had a date with a nice, long bubble bath and her bottle of vodka to think about where to go from there. She had a big decision to make and clearly she needed to be drunk to figure this out. Riley had told her she could be a part of the roommate decision making to help Maya out, but Maya knew Riley would be giving these applicants fair consideration and most definitely, Maya was not about that life.

Just as she began to make her way towards the door to close it, some guy walked in, out of breath, his hair a little disheveled and looking around a bit frantically. She frowned in confusion, wondering if he had come in the wrong apartment. She didn't recognize him. His sea-foam green gaze settled on her, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

"You're Maya Hart, right?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath.

 _Hello handsome._

Her lips pursed as she rose a brow. "Can I help you?"

"I know this is really short notice, and I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to call to set up an appointment, but I saw your ad for the roommate on Craig's List and I was wondering if you were still doing interviews or taking applications."

Maya frowned. "Who are you?"

"Lucas Friar." He straightened and walked over to her, holding out his hand with a smile. "I was wondering if you were still searching for a roommate. "

Maya stared at his hand indifferently, not bothering to acknowledge his greeting. She looked up at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest in disinterest. Nervously, he licked his lips and his hand awkwardly slackened against his side.

"Why are you here?" she asked, not friendly in the least.

He was wasting her time.

His brows furrowed. "I need a place to live. Even just for the night."

"Why?"

"Truthfully, my girlfriend cheated on me back in Texas. I came back to New York, and I thought I could stay with my mother for a bit, but she's a little busy with her new husband and I didn't want to intrude like some clingy son. Hell, I'm twenty-seven. I don't think I should be living with my mom anymore anyway."

"What the fuck does that have to do with me?" Maya asked crossly, "I didn't ask for your life story, Huckleberry."

He bristled, his brows rising in slight shock at the aggressive nature of her response and he stared down at her incredulously, like he was having trouble believing that she was behaving that way. But she didn't care that she was being rude. She had a bubble bath calling her name and this clown—admittedly attractive clown—was keeping her from it.

"Look, I'm sorry I came so late, but I had a meeting at my new work place. I just need a place to stay for the time being. Do I need a bargaining chip? I can cook. It's not dinner hour yet, but I can make dinner or something if you'd like. Does that count for anything?"

"No."

And then traitor that it was, her stomach growled. They both fell silent, Lucas just staring at her in annoyance while Maya cursed her stomach's irrational inability to keep quiet when she needed it to.

"Why don't you want me as a roommate?"

"Because I don't room with guys. Number one rule for Maya Hart."

"Why not?"

"I don't need to explain anything to you. I just don't want you as a roommate." Maya rolled her eyes, turning on her heel so she could leave the room. "Besides, I specifically stated I was looking for _female_ roommates only in my ad. So already, you're wasting my time. I've humoured you enough. So I think it's time for you to go. The door's that way. Close it on your way out."

Before she could move away and head on to the bathroom, Lucas walked briskly past her and he stopped in front of her, directly blocking her path to leave the living room. Maya blinked in surprise at his blatant disregard of her words and obvious decision to refuse to leave. Her face settled into a dangerous scowl. Did he think she was playing games?

"You must have a death wish, Friar."

"Look. Please. I promise I'm not going to disturb you. I just need a place to stay until I settle into my new job and get a place of my own. Seven months. That's all the time I'll ask for." he pleaded, silently begging her with his eyes, "I won't even sign the leasing contract if you don't want me to, that way you can kick me out whenever if you really don't want me to stick around later. Please. I just need a place to stay."

"Begging looks terrible on you, you know." Maya commented, cocking a hip and resting her hand on it.

He rolled his eyes. "Are you always this frigid towards people?"

"I haven't been called an ice cold bitch by local newspapers for nothing."

Lucas sighed in irritation, looking like he was about to give up for real. Maya stared at him, taking note of the five o'clock shadow on his jaw and exhausted slump of his shoulders and the slight bags under his eyes and his disheveled hair. He looked worn out and worn down. And though she didn't particularly feel any sympathy for him—quite frankly, he pissed her off, and she didn't like that stupid country twang in his voice. If she had to listen to that everyday, she might just strangle him—she did sympathize with his circumstances. Getting cheated on sucked and clearly, he'd packed up his entire life and moved to New York to forget about it all and get a fresh start.

Maya had done the same thing too once upon a time. She'd wanted to move to Soho from the Village for a reason. And it wasn't just the art scene.

"Seven months only." she finally said, "Then you're gone."

Lucas' brows lifted in surprise, as if he hadn't expected her to say that, as if he couldn't believe that she had actually agreed.

"Wait, for real?"

Maya nodded. "Are you trustworthy? Do I need a reason to do a background check on you?"

"I'm trustworthy."

He was steady in his response, and Maya could only see sincerity in his gaze as he responded. She didn't necessarily trust him, but looking at him, she couldn't find any reason to suspect him of being untrustworthy or anything. And Maya was a very good reader of people.

"What do you do for a living? Can you even afford this rent? It ain't cheap, ya know?"

"I'm a vet at a clinic in Greenwich Village. Yes, I can afford it."

"Alright then. Your room is down the hallway and to the right. There's nothing in there so furnish it however you want. You're not allowed to paint my walls. You're responsible for your half of the rent and half the grocery shopping. Don't expect me to buy anything for you. Don't bother me when I'm painting, don't disturb me when I'm sleeping, don't try to talk to me when I'm showering, don't get in my way, and if you break anything, you're paying for it. Stay out of my face; I'll stay out of yours and we'll be able to coexist in harmony. There's a full list of what I expect from you as a roommate and rent amount and all that shit sitting on the kitchen counter. Get acquainted intimately with it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm taking a bath."

Maya walked off, ignoring the flabbergasted look on Lucas' face as she left him standing dumbfounded in the middle of the living room.

It looked like she had found someone for now. But only time would tell how compatible they were as roommates. And truth be told?

Maya had a feeling she would regret this.


	2. 41: Hoards Everything And Anything

**A/N: (Hi IHTBY Guest! I'm responding to you here. That is correct, love! OTH is One Tree Hill :3)  
**

 **Thanks for voting if you did!** **Okay, final vote count for Riley's** ** **fiancé** : Farks had 8, Brandon had 8, Charlie had 1. Since it's a tie between Farks and Brand I can either create a total OC and have him be who Riley is with or I can keep her fiancé a nameless, faceless entity, so you can replace in your mind who you individually want as the fianc** ** **é when he's mentioned in convo or brought up. Up to you. In the case of the first, Farkle and Brandon can make appearances in the story. In the case of the second, neither Farkle nor Brandon can make appearances in this story.  
****

 **In addition, I renamed this story from 'Roomies' because I feel like this title fits better? IDK. I just wanted to have 'misadventures' in a title. Anyway, this is Lucas' prologue chapter and then I'll delve into humour *cracks knuckles* let's do this thing!  
**

 **Thank you for the kind, lovely reviews! You all are very sweet and I cannot thank you enough for all you have done for me. You guys are the best! I hope this story entertains you in some way! :D  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, buuuuuuuuut I do love tiramisu! That has to count for something, right?**

* * *

Lucas' momma had always warned him about those Texan girls with the voices as sweet as sugar, the pretty faces, and the sparkling smiles. She warned him that he would get taken advantage of or his heart broken because he was too vain to pay attention to bad eggs. She told him perfection was overrated and if he spent all his time looking for "perfection", he might just miss that someone's interior did not always match what they projected in their exterior.

Of course, at twenty-two, a cocky, fresh college graduate on his way to vet school in the fall with his future completely planned out unlike many of his classmates, he hadn't taken heed of her warnings at all. He had been on top of the world and believed he was invincible, especially since his life had always been pretty successful. A scholar athlete with looks and brains to boot. He wasn't just called Mr. Perfect for no reason. He really did have it all. A complete package of perfection.

What more could anyone want in a guy?

And then he met Clarissa.

His perfect equal in all things life. Gorgeous, a dazzling smile, a soon to be law student who ran marathons and regularly volunteered at nursing homes. Perfection at its finest. The queen to his king. Honestly, if he thought about it, it had been like meeting the female version of himself. They'd hit it off from the start and gotten along very well. Lucas had fallen for her hard within a few weeks of casual dating and before he knew it, they were planning a life together once they had graduated from their schools and settled into jobs. He'd moved into her place after he'd passed his exam and gotten his vet license.

For five years, his life with Clarissa was everything he had dreamed and hoped. Absolute perfection. He had a great girlfriend who he had no doubt would eventually become his wife. He had an awesome job. He was in good shape. Financially stable. Everything he'd ever wanted.

Then he'd caught Clarissa in their bed with their next door neighbour, unbelievably tangled and twisted like a pretzel in such a way he couldn't tell her limbs from Jackson's.

And suddenly, his perfect world crumbled into pieces right before his eyes.

She'd told him she had only been with him because he could pay the rent, but now that she had a steady job, she didn't need him. She had claimed he was too invested in himself and had his head so far shoved up his own ass that he didn't even realize she hadn't been happy with him. She'd told him he needed to reevaluate his life because none of his good fortune would mean shit since he was going to end up alone since no one could meet his unrealistic standards. She tore down piece after piece of him that he'd always found his most admirable qualities, playing the victim card that _he'd_ driven her to cheat because he was way too perfect. She'd brutally shattered him and by the end of it all, Lucas honestly believed _he_ was the reason behind the breakup despite the fact that _she_ was the one who had been cheating.

Clarissa had torn his heart into pieces and tossed him out on his ass. Getting dumped in such a way really had messed him up for a good number of months. He'd been with her for five years of his life. Maybe his young, immature mind hadn't paid apt attention to what his mother said, but he'd always believed she was the one.

Slowly, things he used to love about the city became nuisances. Favourite spots he used to go to with Clarissa were tainted by the sourness of their dreadful separation. And after pining the loss of his relationship for a couple weeks, Austin totally lost its appeal.

The city he'd always envisioned raising his future children in was now a place of wasted years, crushed dreams, and _pain_. And he knew he could no longer stay.

When he'd gotten a job offer at a fairly new veterinarian clinic in Greenwich Village, the pieces came together and he couldn't resist. He desperately needed a clean break from his past and this new opportunity was just the push he needed to get off his ass and actually leave his past behind him.

He'd sold half his old stuff, packed up whatever belongings he had left in his car, and decided to drive the twenty-six hours to New York City. There were other factors as well. He knew the city a bit, enough to build a life there. Plus, his mother had moved there after she had divorced Lucas' father right after he had graduated from high school. She was now remarried and happily enjoying her life and it had inspired Lucas to try his fresh start in New York. After all, if she was able to shed her previous life and create a new one for herself in an unfamiliar place, why couldn't Lucas do the same?

The long road trip up to New York with all the rests and stops at different cities had been kind of eye opening. Being on the road by himself with only his thoughts and the radio to occupy his attention had made him question who he truly was as a person. It made him question how much he really knew about himself after Clarissa had mercilessly broken down everything about him that he had prided himself on.

Lucas had always thought himself as Mr. Perfect, but after his relationship crumbled, he was confused as to who Mr. Perfect really had been. His self-esteem and self-assuredness was at an all-time low, and Lucas honestly wondered if that life he thought he wanted had really been what he'd always hoped his life would be.

He came to realize that in seeking perfection for so much of his life, he'd missed out on making mistakes and growing. He hadn't been able to realize that perfection was overrated and that there was so much out there that he'd missed out on because of his ridiculous standards on how he should live his life. By not taking risks and not letting himself fall, his life had been one straight line of bore. Where had been his attempts to really get his hands dirty in life? He'd decided on one path for himself and stuck with it with everything he had and honestly, he didn't feel he had gained anything from it. Hell, he was twenty-seven now, and he finally felt like his life had begun.

The more he realized he'd been blinded by his desire for perfection, the more he began to remember things he'd completely ignored while he'd been so caught up in Clarissa's outer self. Like her late nights on the weekdays, the marks on her neck she would call blemishes and cover up with makeup, her inability to accept anything as right except her own opinion, her general indifference with their relationship at times. He'd missed it all. And he lamented not listening to his mother and truly accepting her advice not to let his initial perceptions and desires get in the way of honestly getting to know a person first.

By the time he had gotten to New York, he had pretty much been reborn a new him. And he vowed to try again and do life right this time. Humble himself and live differently than how he used to. Try to really get to know people and focus his attention on them. Stop being so self-centered and seeking perfection in his approach at life. Attempt to enjoy life more and venture out of the confines he'd set for his own life in order to fully embody this idealized version of perfection because he believed that was what he was supposed to do. He would change little by little, even if it took him a while to really let go of the persona he'd imposed upon himself. He knew it would be hard shedding Mr. Perfect, but it wasn't a natural thing to begin with so he hoped at the end of whatever journey he was on now, he could let go of and find his true self.

When he had arrived, he visited his mother. His original plan had been to spend a bit of time at his mother's place until he found an apartment to rent, but he'd taken one look at her happiness with her new beau and knew he couldn't disturb their time together by being some clingy son.

Thankfully, he'd managed to hit up Zay, an old friend who had moved to New York several years ago. His new plan had been to crash on Zay's couch for a bit while he settled into his new job before starting his apartment search, but Zay's bachelor lifestyle had made him change his mind.

Girls flocking in and out of the apartment at all hours of the day. Questionable activities in Zay's bedroom that Lucas decidedly decided never to ask about. Not to mention, as a ballet dancer currently in a production on Broadway, he lived in a rather noisy and bustling part of the city.

Lucas wasn't getting the sleep he needed for work, and it had been slowly taking its toll on him. But finding an apartment in a bustling busy city for a good cost and in a decent enough neighbourhood was especially hard since he didn't particularly know the city. He'd visited his mom on and off after she'd moved to NYC, but he still wasn't all that familiar with the city. Not to mention, he had to meet landlords and develop some sort of rapport with them in order for them to determine if he was a decent enough tenant they could allow to rent their establishments. Zay and his mother had promised to try to help him since they were better acquainted with the city, but they had their own lives to lead and were too busy people to spend their time babysitting Lucas.

By the end of his second week in New York, Lucas had been starting to doubt his plans for a fresh start when he couldn't even get his own place. He was so close to asking his mother if he could live with her. When he'd mentioned it to a work colleague after a meeting, she'd recommended instead checking Craig's List to possibly room with someone temporarily while he sought out his own place. He could contribute to rent while living with someone and save money for when he made his big move to a new apartment of his own.

Lucas had originally been hesitant. He'd heard horror stories about Craig's List ads made by creepers and perverts. Just because he found an apartment didn't mean the person who posted had a good head on their shoulders. His biggest fear was possibly ending up as someone's roommate and them turning out to be absolutely insane. But he'd tried anyway just to see what there was to offer.

He hadn't expected to see anything at all and a lot of the ads looked like something written by a child. Not to mention some of the sketchier descriptions that made him pause. Some girl had been seeking out a roommate who would be willing to turn their apartment into a meth factory and become drug kingpins like in Breaking Bad. And then there was the ad by the guy who wanted a roommate solely because he wanted a guaranteed partner for sex. And those had been two of the least crazy ads.

By the time he'd seen the ad posted up by Maya Hart, he'd almost skipped right by it, already growing fed up with all of the idiocy he kept seeing. But the name struck a chord in his mind. He was certain his mother had mentioned something about some painting she had found by a Maya Hart once. He wondered if it really was the artist Maya Penelope Hart he'd heard a little bit about. What he read of her ad had been straightforward: no bullshit, no long descriptions, no craziness. It seemed pretty legit, but her deadline was that afternoon and he knew if he didn't hurry to check it out at least, he could potentially miss a perfect opportunity. He also knew he could possibly be setting himself up for disappointment, but for some reason, something told him he really had to check this place out. And it had definitely proven to be a good decision because he'd managed to get Maya to let him live in her spare room.

But now he was wondering if Maya honestly _was_ one of the crazy ones. Or at the very least, someone he would want to live with longterm.

In another world— _any_ other world—Lucas might have hit on her or tried to charm her when he'd met her to try to coax her into letting him stay. She was intriguing. A beautiful woman who carried herself as if she didn't seem to realize how attractive she truly was and refused to loosen up her tight grip on her anger. He didn't know the source of her ire, but it ran deep in her eyes, and Lucas wondered how someone so young could look so hardened and jaded. She was about a year younger than him, yet it seemed like she'd lived a thousand lifetimes.

But he _didn't_ try to charm her, because the first impression she'd given him was very unsavoury.

Maya Hart in a nutshell: she was a straight up _bitch_. A very attractive bitch with the sexiest legs he had ever seen, an ice cold disposition, and a simmering rage under her skin that was hotter than any campfire Lucas had ever been near.

There was no other way to put it.

He tried to be patient when possible and wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt for her behaviour because he didn't know her past, but he just didn't know what was her deal to make her behave as if everyone in the world was out to get her or something.

He'd watched her harass a poor pizza guy once for being one minute late past the suggested time of delivery and then yell at him for a solid five minutes when he dared ask for a tip. Lucas thought the poor kid had almost pissed his pants in shock and before he'd left, Lucas had snuck him a ten for his troubles. And okay, the pizza guy had nearly been drooling and eyeing her pervertedly when Maya opened the door in her underwear and a tank top, but she'd gone too far when she started to dissect his life story in this derogatory manner. She'd made him cry which Lucas took to understand she'd probably hit way too close to home for the guy. He just thought she was too brutal and aggressive more than 95% of the time.

She was absolutely an amazing artist, though. He'd looked up some of her work to try to see if he could try to understand her mentality and the reason why she was the way she was. He could say nothing but great things about her fantastic artwork. She was definitely skilled. But she was terrible sometimes and honestly needed a lot of work on her personality. Part of him wondered if it was just an extreme defense mechanism because she was afraid of getting hurt, but every time he tried to talk to Maya, she gave nothing away that could prove she had possibly dealt with some pretty hard things in life. She was very closed off. And she had meant what she said about keeping to herself.

Quite frankly, she scared him in some ways which surprised even himself. She was so short and small and had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye, yet for some reason, he was kind of terrified of her. Her blank stares with those stormy blue-gray eyes of hers were so sharp, he sometimes felt like she could slit his throat with a single glare.

It hadn't been altogether that long since he'd been living with her—about three days now—and he was already a bit worn out.

~.~.~

"So where is this nefarious, she-devil roommate of yours, Maya Hart?" Zay asked, looking around the living room as he helped Lucas carry the box with the parts of his desk to his room so they could set it up. "I've seen her art. I don't believe someone with that kind of mastery of the fragility of human emotion and human nature could possibly be so rough around the edges. Unless she's dealt with some difficult things in the past, but even then, I don't believe you."

Lucas had finally finished buying all the rest of the furniture he needed and now was going to set it up and finish up his room. He'd asked Zay to help him that afternoon, but Maya had told him not to make too much noise since she would be painting and the last time Lucas had made a little too much noise, she had been in a very bad mood for the rest of the day.

"Quiet." Lucas shushed him, carefully guiding them through the hallway to his room. "She's trying to paint."

"So?" Zay gave him a weird look as he set the box down on the ground and loudly slapped dust from the cardboard encasing off of his hands. "What does her painting have to do with anything?"

"When she paints, she's like a bear in hibernation." Lucas put his own side down and cracked his knuckles to loosen them up from the stiff position they had been in for so long. "If you wake her up from hibernation early, she gets angry and threatens to kick your ass."

"It's true."

They spun around in surprise at Maya's voice. She was standing in the doorway in a giant baggy t-shirt looking pissed off, her hair mussed and tangled and tumbling wildly around her. Lucas stared at her, swallowing hard. She looked like she'd just gotten done rolling in the hay. He desperately hoped he would eventually get used to the way she looked.

Zay blinked in shock, his jaw dropping as he stared at her. Then he turned to Lucas and pointed in her direction.

"Lucas. That's… Maya Hart…"

"I told you she was my roommate." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Holy shit. I thought you were lying!" Zay smiled. "I am a _huge_ fan of your work, Maya. I've used one of your pieces to inspire students in a workshop on dancing with emotion once. Your work is incredible! Where do you find muses for those pieces?"

"Who the hell is he?" Maya asked Lucas, a blank, uninterested look on her face. "And what the hell is he doing in my apartment?"

"Zay, my best friend. He's helping me set up some of my furniture."

Maya's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Zay."

"How can I help you, sugar?"

"Either shut the fuck up or get the fuck out of my apartment. I'm trying to work, but if you're going to disturb it, you can leave. I could hear your loud ass voice even when you were in the living room. That being said, if I hear another peep out of this room, I'm coming back in here with a shovel, and you _both_ are going to end up in body bags in the Hudson River."

Maya spun around in a wave of peach scented lotion and flowing blond locks and stormed back across the hall to her room, slamming the door shut. The two men stood in place for a moment, holding their breath and staring at the place where Maya had just been standing.

" Okay…" Zay said at length. "She's kind of scary."

 _Truer words never spoken._

"You're telling me."

"Hot as hell. But scary."

They shook off the confrontation and set to work unloading the box to assemble his desk. Conscious of the fact that Maya might possibly hear them, they tiptoed around his room quietly, being careful not to make a lot of noise for extended periods of time. They worked quickly, fixing it the way the instructions stated.

It all was going well until Zay dropped a bag of midsized screws, and they scattered across the floor. Lucas accidentally stepped on them and kicked one out of his room when he had been readjusting his position.

And it slid under Maya's door.

There were a few seconds were they stared at each other, _oh shit_ looks on their faces.

"What are you going to do?"

"…I have no choice but to get it." Lucas sighed as he headed out of his room. "I'll ask her."

He crossed the hallway feeling like he was approaching some kind of enemy territory and briefly wondered if she had set up booby traps outside of her door so no one could come in. Lucas knocked on the door, waiting for her to respond.

"Maya. I dropped a screw. Do you think I could get it really quickly? Or you can give it to me if you want."

There was no response.

Lucas knocked again, a little louder this time.

"Maya, did you hear me?"

There was still no response.

With a sigh, Lucas tried the knob and pushed open the door when it gave, deciding it would just be a lot easier to possibly face Maya's wrath and grab the screw really quickly than wait for her to respond when it seemed she wasn't going to.

He walked in her room and subsequently froze, his eyes slowly widening as he took in the sight.

Maya was standing in the middle of her room in front of a blank easel, her back to Lucas, but that wasn't what made him pause.

Her room was an uncontrolled, indescribable, unapologetic, outrageous fucking mess.

There was clutter _everywhere_. An assortment of clothes on every solid surface and piled especially on her bed. He couldn't even see the comforter. Some was even hanging from her ceiling fan. Her bookshelf was crammed with more books than Lucas could count, CDs and tapes and a few vinyl records stacked on top and nearly touching the ceiling. He counted not one, not two, but _three_ broken lamps in her room, unusable, yet wedged in a corner. There were four chairs stacked haphazardly on top of each other in another one, dusty and clearly unused. Old, worn stuffed animals were littered here and there, some of them covered in paint and others torn and ripped up. Paint cans and bottles of paints and brushes were scattered in one corner and around various parts of the floor, paint stains splashed on the wall right next to a stack of blank canvases. Cardboard boxes with various items were in random places of her room. Crumbs and snack and candy wrappers and empty takeout boxes and other molding food were casually resting on top of many of the things in her room.

It was _horrifying_.

Like a work of art all on its own.

"What do you think you're doing in here? Who gave you permission to come in my room?" Maya suddenly growled, yanking her headphones out of her ears and spinning around angrily. "Get the fuck out before I turn around and shove this paintbrush up your ass."

"I was just trying to get a screw." Lucas said with a frown as he picked it up from its location near the door.

Did she always have to be so aggressive with her responses? He'd never met anyone like her in his life. So angry and spiteful and ready to snap at people as if they all contributed to something shitty in her life. One of these days, Lucas was sure he was going to snap and call Maya out on her bitchy behaviour. He was only so patient and could only take so much shit from people but even he had his limits.

"Great. Now get out."

"Lucas, did you find the…" Zay whistled low from the doorway, leaning slightly in and looking around in shock. "Damn. You have one hell of a roommate."

Yeah he had one hell of a roommate. One hell of a _disgusting_ roommate, that is.

"Is this seriously how you live?" Lucas asked incredulously, not being able to remain silent about the mess any longer. How the hell could she possibly live like this? "You're a hoarder."

"What of it?" Maya cocked a hip with a challenging look on her face. "It works for me."

"When was the last time you saw what your floor looked like? There are flies on that huge pile of trash!" he gestured to it with his hand. "And then there's the fact that there's even a pile of trash in your room in the first place! Do you not see a problem with that?"

"What's wrong with having trash in my room?" Maya said indignantly, looking a little affronted. "I call it The Sphinx. It kind of looks like it. It's cute."

"You think a pile of garbage is cute? It's not okay! And why the hell is there dirty laundry all over your room? Your room is disgusting!"

Maya's eyes narrowed in irritation.

"Look, you live your life your way, and I'll live mine my way. If you don't like the way my room looks, here's a thought, don't come in my room. Now get the hell out. I told you not to bother me when I'm painting."

Maya walked over to him, planting her hands on his abdomen, and forced him out of her bedroom before slamming the door shut in his and Zay's faces.

"She'll grow on you eventually." Zay said, patting Lucas' shoulder. "Maybe… Probably not though. Good luck because you're fucked."

He chuckled as he turned around and headed back to Lucas' room.

Lucas was _appalled_. Maya was a slob. There was no other way to put it. How the hell was someone so beautiful so utterly disgusting?

All he knew so far about his roommate was that she was constantly annoyed and angry, consistently vicious, rude, unwelcoming, clearly not a people person, unconcerned with propriety, way too lax about life, and messy as fuck. Everything he couldn't stand in a person.

He was really starting to regret living with her.


	3. 17:Don't Expect Much Room For Your Stuff

**A/N: Alright! It's been decided. Riley's** **fiancé is an OC; that's the only way to be fair (because voting closed with chapter one & it was a tie) :3**

 **Anyway, I had an interesting conversation with the lovely Maya Phantom about what kind of roommate she would be. So I want to know: if you've read both 'prospective roommates' oneshots, which type of roommate do you think you would be more like? A Maya? Or a Lucas?  
**

 **Thank you all for being so sweet! I appreciate the kind words and I hope this story can remain entertaining for you! I appreciate you reading the story! :)  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, buuuuuuuuut I do love tiramisu! That has to count for something, right?**

* * *

Maya considered herself a very patient person. Most people who didn't know her would think she most certainly was not, hell, she tended to try to attack people at times and she wasn't opposed to yelling at neighbours through the walls to pipe down when she could hear them. But Maya was incredibly good at holding herself back when she was pissed off. Yes, when she lost her temper and snapped she became something like a rabid dog, ready to sink her teeth into people's arms and she usually had to be held back, but in general, Maya was pretty good at keeping her irritation and anger at bay. She had Riley to thank for making her a bit better than she used to be, of course. Her best friend had been helping her for years to try not to be so volatile towards… well, general humanity.

But she was absolutely fed up with Lucas Friar.

Maya had been trying to be unbelievably patient with him for so long, but everything he did was grating her nerves and only serving to remind her yet again why a) she never wanted to room with any guys, b) she'd thought it would be a bad idea to let him live with her the second he had walked through her door, and c) she couldn't stand him.

His rich suburban seeming upbringing. His annoying country twang. His good boy, Mama's boy personality. The way he would always act faux polite, speaking slowly and calmly when she was close to raging as if he was speaking to a child. The condescending looks he would give her and disdainful comments he would make. The subtle 'I'm better than you' vibes he would give off towards her, as if she was a hot mess who didn't have her life together.

He ticked her off.

And every day having to deal with him was just a right pain in the ass. She tried to be as nice as possible—which wasn't very nice at all to be honest, but it was nice considering how she usually treated people she didn't like—but everything he did got on her nerves for some reason.

He was so clean cut and acted so damn _perfect_ to the point that it almost seemed fake, and it bugged her. Even more than that was the way he sometimes talked down to her as if he believed she should be living up to his standard and what he constituted a good life. Maya liked the way she lived, and even if it was unconventional, it worked for her. She didn't like him coming in and trying to act as if things weren't okay and they needed to change. Maya had been fine for all these years with Riley.

Lucas seemed like the annoying kind of person who'd had it easy their whole life and while Maya wasn't usually judgemental and didn't hate people for having it easier, she didn't particularly try to get to know them either. Other than Riley and some other childhood friends, Maya avoided people like that at all costs because the fundamental differences in their attitudes toward life usually resulted in tensions in relating with each other and underlying irritation at times from careless comments made.

And Lucas was a prime example of the reason why she tended to stay away from people who'd had different backgrounds than her growing up.

"He's annoying, Riley. I just don't like him. And we don't work as roommates. Not like you and I did, anyway."

 _"Maya…"_ Riley sighed on the other line. _"Some of the stuff you said he does sounds like he's almost exactly the same kind of roommate that I was to you."_

"There's no way. You and I always got along as roommates. We had a system that worked. He's trying to change things!" Maya growled, rolling over under her covers for a better position when she felt something hard in the pile of clothes she was sleeping on top of. "A couple days ago, he came in my room looking for something without permission and then started complaining about the way my room looked. Not only was it none of his business, but it's also not his room! He obviously thinks he's better than me for some reason. If you met him, you would think he's terrible too. And you'd definitely see what a bad roommate he is."

 _"I don't know why you're acting like we had the perfect roommate relationship, Maya. You were horrifying as a roommate to me."_

"What?"

 _"Let me put it this way so you can understand it in your way."_ Riley cleared her throat dramatically. " _My relationship with you as a roommate—_ just _a roommate; I love you in every other aspect of life—is akin to the ire Michelangelo felt towards Leonardo Di Vinci. A lingering annoyance and prevailing distaste towards you."_

"You've actually studied up on art." Maya chuckled. "I'm proud of you."

 _"Thank you. I want to remain connected with you even though we're not together anymore."_ Riley giggled. _"But that's beside the point. I didn't like living with you for a very long period of time, Maya. Do you not remember all the fights we used to get into at the beginning when we first moved in together during our senior year? At some point, you were even putting paint in my shampoo bottles. And then I took all your white clothes and turned them pink."_

"Oh yeah." Maya snickered as she remembered how the end of college had been rife with arguments between them. "You were really bad at pranking and getting revenge."

 _"That's also beside the point. What I'm saying, Maya, is that I eventually gave up because I knew you wouldn't try to change the way you wanted to live and I knew fighting that would make things worse. And then by the time I moved out, I had gotten so used to you that it was such a shock to live in a civilized apartment with someone who actually lives like a human being. There weren't garbage bags to the ceiling in the bedroom, and for some reason, I found_ that _surprising, which makes no sense. This Lucas guy sounds like he's not going to give up either, Maya. But the fact remains that from my standpoint, you're the worse roommate. Sorry, Peaches."_

"Why didn't you say anything for the past years then?"

 _"Like I said, we were both stressed and trying to become adults in a difficult setting and struggling. We were already agitated enough as it was, and I didn't want us to have a falling out over it, so I sucked it up and dealt with it as best as I could. Sounds to me like you're having problems with Lucas because you're both just as hardheaded as the other. Where I was more of a passive roommate, he seems like he's pretty aggressive too, just in a kind of opposite, more polite way than you? And maybe too condescending—which really does sound annoying. Either way, you both need to sit down and talk about this because if you don't it's going to be a mess. Trust me on this."_

Maya yawned as she sat up, scattering articles of clothing off her bed as she kicked the covers off of her body.

"I'll think about it."

 _"Good. Now I've gotta go. I'm going to dinner to meet Hector's parents, and I'm nervous. I need to make sure I look perfect so they love me."_

"Riley, they'll love you. Everyone does."

 _"Thanks, Maya. Remember, talk to your roommate. That's the best way to squash whatever problems there may be early on. And later, tell me more about his looks. I couldn't help but notice that you deliberately left out what he looked like except that he's much taller than you so either he's so average it's not worth a mention, or he's so attractive to you that you don't want to say anything without sounding like you're gushing about how hot he might—"_

"Go get ready for your dinner, Pumpkin. Love you. Bye."

Riley giggled on the other line.

 _"Love you too."_

Maya set her phone on her pillow and stretched languidly, cracking her stiff limbs from being asleep in a strange position for so long. She knew Riley was right. If she didn't talk about her issues with Lucas from the start, she was sure she was going to try to kick his ass in the future, and though she was confident in the training she'd gotten when she was younger, Lucas was a lot taller and broader than her and she was a little worried that he'd be able to snatch her up like a doll and toss her on his shoulder to make her stop.

(Terrified of that actually. Maya was not a fan of high places).

Maya ran her hand through her tangled hair, resolving to maybe wait it out just a little bit. To wait to have the conversation in a couple days so that the odd tension of annoyance that always seemed to be lingering between them could subside a bit first. Otherwise, she knew her instinct would be to yell at him.

Was what she thought.

Until Maya entered the bathroom and pulled open the sink cabinet to find a plethora of things in there, almost filling it to the brim. Some cologne and an aftershave and then some other spray thingies that Maya didn't even know. A jar of cotton balls, his razor bag. Another bag. Some cream thing. And then another one. His toothbrush and toothpaste. And right in the bottom corner was Maya's meager stuff, her own toothbrush and toothpaste and her makeup bag.

His stuff took up almost three quarters of the entire cabinet, and Maya barely had any space for her own stuff. It was ridiculous. It was absolutely ridiculous and the more Maya stared at her cabinet taken over by his things, the more furious she grew. None of his stuff had been in the cabinet before, and all of a sudden, it was taking up all the room.

Maya stared incredulously as she snatched up a tube of shaving gel and a different can of shaving cream.

"What the fuck is all of this…?" she muttered, feeling her irritation mount exponentially.

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself down, Maya stalked out of the bathroom, products in hand as she approached the living room. She could hear noise from the kitchen and as she got closer, her stomach suddenly erupted in a growl from the mouthwatering smell drifting through the air. Maya forced herself to keep her mind off of food and focus as she rounded the corner and stomped angrily into the kitchen.

Lucas was standing in front of the stove, still in his casual business wear for work, meticulously pinching some salt into a steaming pot bubbling on the stovetop as he mixed the contents. If Maya wasn't so angry, she would have been drooling over the aroma travelling into her nose. But she was.

She stopped right beside him, holding up the gel to him with a cocked eyebrow.

"What the hell is this?"

"Morning, _Sunshine_ ," Lucas drawled, his attention still on what he was cooking. "Nice to see you finally up. Thought I'd make my gran's chili for dinner. I hope you don't mind, but I put a bit of cayenne pepper in it to give it a kick."

"Don't call me Sunshine, Hopalong." Maya snapped. "And answer my question. What the hell is this?"

He barely spared her a glance out of the corner of his eye, slight irritation passing through his gaze momentarily. It was always the same. He tried to act superior and unaffected, but the minute she responded to his patronizing behaviour, he got snappy and sarcastic too. He was no better than her, and if he thought he had the upper hand, he had another think coming.

"That's shaving gel," Lucas responded slowly, as if she was an idiot. "It says so on the label."

"So what is this?"

"Shaving cream. Also on the label."

Maya's eyes narrowed. "Why the hell do you need both if they're exactly the same thing?"

"They're not the same thing. One helps cut the hair more cleanly and the other one helps to moisturize the skin and protect it from the razor."

"Seriously? Soap will do the same job _and_ you don't need two damn bottles of the same fucking shit!"

"Soap won't do the same job if you have sensitive skin," he responded through grit teeth, his eyes on the pot and clearly trying to dismiss her.

Maya fought the urge to chuck the stuff at him, grab his face, and make him look at her. She did not like being ignored.

"Your shit is filling up almost all of the bathroom cabinet! I don't have any room for my stuff."

"It was basically already empty before I put my stuff in there. What's the big deal? You clearly don't need the space, and I have a lot of things to keep up with."

"You're high maintenance is what it is. I don't like it cluttering up my cabinet."

"Your stuff was already in one corner anyway. I just filled the spaces." Lucas growled, gripping the handle of his mixing spoon more tightly.

"You took over is what you did. Can you clear up all that crap you left in it and keep it in your room or something?"

"Oh that's rich coming from you. You're seriously asking me that question?"

"Yeah. I am."

"Well do you think you could refrain from leaving your underwear on the bathroom floor all the time and keep it in your room or something?"

"Do _you_ think you could refrain from spraying your fucking cologne in the bathroom? It's nauseating."

"I haven't gotten any complaints."

"Really?" Maya scoffed. "They lied to you. It smells like shit."

"Yeah, you would know since that's what your room smells like."

"My room smells fine."

"Have you actually taken a whiff of the stench in there?" Lucas spat, turning to face her. "There are piles of fucking garbage in a corner and mold on every surface!"

"So what?"

"So you're a slob, and I can't imagine what kind of depraved childhood you had to have had to grow up this way."

Maya felt herself stiffen sharply, rage boiling up in her and coursing through her veins before she could even stop it from happening. That was it.

"Shut the fuck up before I beat the shit out of you." Maya snarled, dropping the products as she grabbed the collar of Lucas' button down and yanked him down so they were face to face. "You don't know my life or me at all. You've got some nerve."

"I don't even need to know you to know that you've obviously got screws loose and would never be able to function in the real world. You're lucky you're an artist because no sane industry would ever want to hire someone like you." Lucas' eyes narrowed treacherously, his words low and sharp. "How hard is it to just be nice? It's like your brain short circuits at the concept for some reason. Being nice should be second nature!"

What an asshole.

"We weren't all raised as a country hick town, Dudley-Do-Right, good little Mama's boy, you know?"

"I've had it." Lucas growled, brushing her hands off of his shirt and cutting off the stove with a sharp snap. "Can you stop being such a damn bitch all the time?! You insult me every second we talk! I don't even know what I did to you, but your attitude stinks, and I've had enough of being the punching bag for your toxic bullshitting. Grow the fuck up."

"And I've had enough of you, _period_." Maya shot back. "You make me sick with all that 'I'm so perfect' behaviour and all your condescension and the way you act as if you know best from whatever stupid idea you have in your mind that growing up how you have makes you better than me. I don't know why I wasted my time on you. I didn't even want you to live here in the first place!"

"Well then why don't you just kick me out?!"

"Maybe I should!"

"Yeah, maybe you should!"

"Maybe I will! Take a hike, Huckleberry! Find a different place to live because this arrangement is over!"

"Fine! I've wasted enough time in this hellhole with you!"

Lucas brushed right by her, fists clenched and seething as he disappeared in the hallway.

Maya rolled her eyes.

 _Good riddance._

She no longer had to worry about the stress of having to live with him, an asshole through and through. She couldn't for the life of her understand why he carried himself in such a way as if he was morally superior when he was just as much an ass as she was. He just masked his better and put on airs and false fronts.

At least now he was going to leave though, and Maya wouldn't have to worry about it anymore. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there was a voice—Riley's voice actually—that was telling her to apologize because she'd found a decent enough roommate that could contribute a lot to their living environment, and if she lost him, the difficult search would begin again. Maya disregarded it, deciding she would rather go through all that trouble to find a roommate once again than have to live with this Huckleberry dumbass for another damn day.

The doorbell rang, and Maya walked over to it, wondering who could possibly be bugging her at this time of the evening. She unlatched the locks and pulled open the door. Her landlady, Marie Leblanc, was standing there in her cotton candy pink dress, not a single jerry curl out of place on her head. She had a tight smile on her face, a tight smile with a gleam of distaste that only seemed to grow after Maya opened the door. She looked down at Maya's current state—her baggy sweater and hair completely disheveled—in slight disgust before she met Maya's eyes again.

"Good evening, Maya."

"Marie." Maya stifled a yawn, wondering why the old bitch was coming to visit her.

She'd paid her rent on time and as far as Maya knew, there shouldn't have been any issues or concerns that merited a visit from the owner of the apartment complex.

"I thought I heard yelling from down the hall."

"Yeah I was just… on the phone."

"Right, well." Marie cleared her throat and straightened, her hands clasped in front of her. "Maya, I didn't happen to see you at the monthly tenant meeting earlier this afternoon. Were you there, and I just missed you or…?"

Shit. Maya had forgotten. After she had finished a piece for her gallery, she'd gone to bed just as the sun was rising and Lucas was getting up to get ready for work. She had stayed asleep well into the evening. The meeting had completely slipped her mind. Back in the past, Riley had been the one to keep up with all the meetings and events and would take care of making the appearances for their tenantship.

"Right…" Maya chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "I forgot. I was working late finishing up a piece, and I slept through the time of the meeting."

"Dear, your underwear is showing." Marie whispered, looking around as if scandalized.

"Oh." Maya readjusted her sweater, yanking it further down and fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She just wanted the anal woman to scram so she could go back to her own matters. "So, what did you want?"

"Well, Maya, I came to inform you that a lovely couple planning to have children came looking for an apartment for the future this afternoon."

"Well that's great for you. More tenants."

"Yes, well…" Marie briefly hesitated, twiddling her thumbs. "I don't have any apartments to spare at the moment. Two bedroom apartments are what they are looking for. And I had just the most wonderful conversation with them about their professions. The man is a public defense attorney and his wife works nonprofit. What a delightful couple."

Maya shifted on her feet, wondering why the old bat was still talking after all this time. What the hell was the point of all this? Could she get on with it already?

"Okay…?"

"Now I come here because as much as I love the artwork you produce, Maya, I would like to lease them an apartment. And truth be told, I want to lease them _this_ apartment at the end of your contract date."

Maya's breath caught in her chest and her brows rose, alarmed by Marie's comment. Had she heard her right?

"Wait, what?"

"Now don't take this the wrong way, but I feel like you will no longer require it since you live alone. This apartment is quite large and would be better suited for people who can use it in productive ways. I know it's a lot to ask—"

"You didn't ask though."

"—but I'm going to give you until your contract expires so you can find somewhere else to live."

So that was that. Marie was going to evict her, whether Maya wanted to or not. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Look, Riley and I spent years here. Are you really going to make me move out after this has been my home for so many years?"

"But Riley's gone now. And I don't want this to become a bachelorette pad. We value family and wholesome living here, and while I tolerated your activities and single life at times because you and Riley are sisters and family, now you're living alone and I think this apartment would better benefit a couple who are willing to expand our little community in a… _positive_ way. You're in your mid-twenties and have long since finished college. I'm sure you'll be able to find affordable apartments of this quality pretty easily now."

Maya knew what this was. It wasn't just because of the "community" bullshit Marie had just told her. Riley had always been Marie's favourite for making her brownies for her birthday, always asking about her wellbeing and her family, her holiday programs and how sweet she was to everyone in general. Riley was an exemplary tenant. And Maya was just _not_. Now that Riley was gone, Maya had nothing to distract Marie from her subtle desire for bitter revenge.

She would be lying if she said she hadn't been expecting this at some point or another. Maya knew Marie wasn't particularly fond of her ever since Maya had tossed a bucket of dirty water she'd been using to rinse her paintbrushes out the window, and it soaked Marie and her puppy to the bone. This was just the most inopportune time for her to decide to get rid of Maya. She really needed Riley to appease their landlady. She'd always been partial to Riley's innocent, Bambi like qualities and her social graces.

"Listen, Marie—"

"I'm sorry, Maya," she said, cutting her off. She honestly didn't look sorry at all though in Maya's opinion. "I hate to do this, but I feel like this apartment would better benefit a different tenant. I'm going to bring them by next week and show them around. If you could tidy up the living room and the guest bedroom a bit, that would be great."

"Marie, you can't just do that." Maya frowned. "I _live_ here."

"Technically, you only live here until your lease is up. Your lease isn't automatically renewable," she said matter of factly. "There's nothing really to discuss, Maya. I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind."

Maya chewed on her lower lip, closing her eyes momentarily and forcing herself to remain calm and not try to cuss this woman out or even worse, rip her hair out of her head. This was not the day for this crap. She was sleep deprived, she had to deal with all the annoyances from Lucas, and now this bitch. What was she supposed to do?

Maya took a deep breath, just about to try to argue her case again when Lucas suddenly appeared beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her to his side. Maya nearly jumped in surprise, stiffening immediately when she was all of a sudden snuggled up to him, his scent invading her nose.

"Something the matter, honey?" he asked.

She stared up at Lucas, a little bit shocked, and he quirked a brow, clearly telling her to play along.

"Oh my… And who is this strapping young man?" Marie asked.

"Lucas Friar." He took Marie's hand and shook it. "I'm Maya's fiancé."

Marie looked shocked. "Maya, you're engaged?"

"…Yupp." Maya chuckled halfheartedly, her smile kind of a grimace as she rested her head on his chest, her arms draped around his waist. "I'm engaged. To this guy. We're together. And engaged."

"Well why didn't you tell me?"

"It was kind of _unexpected_. Didn't even see it coming." Maya grumbled, and Lucas' grip around her tightened minutely, one of his fingers wedging into her side.

Maya clawed one of her hands into his side in retaliation, taking pride in the fact that he bristled, his grip on her loosening up the slightest bit.

"When are you planning to get married?" Marie asked with some twinkle in her eyes that made Maya particularly uneasy.

"We're still getting used to life with each other." Lucas replied. "We don't want to ruin this thing we have before we're ready to get officially married, you know? Maybe next year. Or the year after that."

He smiled down at Maya charmingly, reaching over and tucking a loose coil of hair behind her ear.

"I'm just happy I can finally be with you. Because I love you so much, Cupcake."

It was so saccharine, so corny and it made Maya nearly cringe in disgust at how fake the amourous undertone laced in his words were. She smiled tightly, leaning closer to him to better reinforce the image of a couple deeply in love though she and Lucas were all but glaring at each other with their eyes.

"I love you too, _Princess_." Maya forced out, her teeth nearly cracking from how clenched her jaw was.

Lucas' gaze darkened, and Maya nearly started laughing from the thinly veiled irritation in his expression.

"I love you more than life itself, baby," he murmured, stroking her cheek, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Every time I look in your eyes, I fall in love all over again. Your smile makes my whole world light up in colour."

Maya's face started to curl, feeling utterly sickened by his disgustingly sweet comments. She couldn't even think of anything to say, not after that. She only hoped Marie thought it was due to some sort of love spell she was under and not the fact that she felt like retching on everyone's shoes.

"You two are so cute." Marie swooned, her hand on her heart. "You're very lucky to have found someone who loves you, Maya. He is quite handsome and charming. What a gentleman."

"Gee thanks…" Maya muttered, wondering if Marie was honestly insulting her or not.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to properly introduce myself to you," Lucas said, "but I've been moving all my stuff into the apartment since I moved to New York to work at a vet clinic in Greenwich Village, and Maya and I have just been so busy lately. We were long distance for years—I was in Texas, you see—but now I've moved here for good to be with my short little stack of pancakes."

Maya wanted to punch him for nickname.

"We hope to maybe someday change our family of two to a family of three. Or more if she wants more kids with me. I'm not opposed. We always thought this would be the perfect location to raise our future children, but I guess we'll have to start looking for a new place."

"Oh no! Of course you don't have to start looking for a new place! This is the perfect location for you to raise your family." Marie stated empathically, looking extremely apologetic. "I am so sorry for bugging you, Maya. I wouldn't have told the couple about the apartment if I knew you were planning for your own family in the future with your fiancé. I wish you two all the luck for your impending nuptials. Please excuse me for my transgressions. You both should come to my apartment sometime and have dinner with my husband and me."

"We would love to." Lucas answered, and this time, Maya really did stab him sharply in the side with a fingernail. He grunted slightly, masking his pain well by clearing his throat. "But we'll have to get back to you on a date though; we've got a lot to do at the moment."

"No, I definitely understand. You two have a nice evening now."

Marie walked away, Lucas and Maya smiling as she disappeared down the hall. But as soon as Maya shut the door of her apartment, he let go of her abruptly, and she pulled away from him as if he were on fire, the smile dropping from her face immediately as her eyes narrowed.

"Any thanks in order any time soon?" Lucas snarked. "Or are you just going to stand there glaring at me when I just saved your ass from eventually getting evicted?"

"Saved my ass? You made it much worse! You do realize that now you absolutely cannot leave because of this lie?"

"On the contrary." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. " _I_ can leave whenever the hell I want to. The one in danger of losing the apartment is you. You need me to stick around now or you're screwed."

Maya stared at him in shock, her fists slowly clenching as Lucas cocked a brow. So he had done it to extort her? What an absolute tool. This was why Maya never trusted anyone. Everyone in the world only cared for their own agendas without thinking about what their behaviour could to the people they took advantage of. Maya may have acted that way sometimes too, but she used to let everyone in and look what happened to her there. People leaving. People using her. People breaking her heart. She had every right to be as bitchy as she wanted. And with good reason since people were always disappointing her.

Like this. She'd known Lucas was some kind of asshole, but she hadn't expected him to be this despicable to this extent. It was honestly disappointing to know this was his true character.

"You must be so proud of yourself, I bet." Maya spat, her lip curled in disgust. "Congratulations. You got me. What, do you want me to beg you for forgiveness now or you'll blackmail me? You're a sad excuse for a human being if this is your idea of some kind of revenge."

Lucas sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Calm down. That's not why I did that, Maya. I wasn't trying to extort you. I don't want you to lose your home, okay? Also because I would lose my place too."

"So why did you say that then?" she growled, though part of her couldn't deny that she felt some inkling of relief.

"I just wanted to shut you up for a bit. You're so calculating and you always think you're right. I just needed to be ahead for once." Lucas said honestly. "All I want is for you to stop being so rude all the time."

"Only 5% of the time will work for me, Huckleberry."

"Why are you so… like this?"

"You wouldn't understand, Sundance. It's pointless."

"I'm trying to. All you have to do is tell me."

"I don't want to talk about it with you of all people. Like I said, telling you is pointless. You would never understand, _Mr. Perfect_."

Lucas' jaw clenched in annoyance, his eyes narrowing angrily.

"That's right, I _don't_ understand. But you can't fault me for that for possibly growing up differently from you. Just because we had different backgrounds in our upbringing doesn't mean that we both haven't experienced difficult things in life. You act like I would be judgemental about your past, but you're turning around and being judgemental about mine without even knowing it. You're a damn hypocrite.

"Hate me because you know me and my story and decide you don't like me. Don't hate me just because I resemble some certain trope of male that you may heavily dislike. It makes you look like a terrible person, which I'm hoping you're not, because when you're not biting my head off you seem like you might actually be cool to hang out with or get a drink with or something, but I'll never know because you shut me out and growl and snap at me like you have a personal vendetta against me when we've only known each other for about five days at this point."

He stopped talking abruptly, staring at her with furrowed brows as a heavy silence fell across the room. Maya rolled her eyes in boredom.

"You done?"

Lucas looked exasperated. "So nothing I said even—"

"You moving all your stuff in the bathroom cabinet only serves to drive the point home that my best friend really has moved out and is moving on with her life. It was like a slap to my face and a reminder that it's officially true that she's going on to the next chapter of her life and leaving me behind. There's no going back now that you've settled in. And part of me was hoping that maybe this was temporary and that things would just go back to the way they were before."

"…Maya—"

"We're not talking about this right now." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Consider this your lucky single glimpse into my mind. Make of it what you will and figure out what you want about me from that, but that's all I'm telling you. I'm clearly making an effort, and this is my thanks for helping me with Marie."

Lucas rolled his eyes, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"If you don't want to talk about it, can we at least start over on the right foot this time? And try to make this roommate thing work? If you tone down your whole Medusa thing, I can try not to bug you too much about the way you choose to live."

Maya cocked a hip. "But you already broke that agreement."

"How? What did I possibly do?"

"It was the way you said 'you choose to live'. As if my way of life is some disgusting thing and you pity me for it. You don't even have to be actively condescending. It's the way you say stuff that puts me off."

"Then I'll work on my tone. Look. My point is that we could stand to benefit from each other as each other's roommates, but neither of us are going to like living in general if we keep making each other miserable. So let's both make an effort to make this work. What do you say?"

Maya glanced at the abandoned pot on the kitchen stove before she brought her gaze back to Lucas' expectant one.

"I say… it'd be a shame if all that chili you made went to waste."

Lucas stared at her for a second, searching her face for a few beats of silence. Then he snorted and shook his head in amusement, walking towards the stove.

"Alright. I'll take it."

Maya's stomach growled.

"Good. I'm fucking starving, and it smells amazing."

"You know?" Lucas said as he turned the heat back on. "Maybe a new chapter of your life has started. Just not the same way as your friend's. You might not have recognized it because you were still stuck on the past and wanting your friend to come back."

Maya didn't respond, heading over to the fridge to grab a beer.

She was still annoyed by him—and she didn't think she would ever like him; they were way too different for them to ever become friends—but for a moment, it felt like some weight on her shoulders had been lifted. She had to admit, it did feel a little nice to be able to tell someone other than Riley what was going on with her. She didn't really know what had compelled her to confide in Lucas, but she was glad she had. And she was even more glad that he had listened.

Maya opened the fridge and froze, her eye twitching in annoyance.

She was appalled to find water and fresh squeezed juice and other healthy atrocities filling the shelves that never used to be there before. Hell, the day before, all Maya had had in there was some old takeout, moldy cheese, a bowl of unfinished cereal with a green blob in the center of it and her beer. All of which was wedged in one little corner of the fridge to make room for all the other stuff.

"…Fucking hell."


	4. 22: Ruins Every Piece Of White Clothing

**A/N: They say the best relationships are ones where you can learn from each other and become better versions of yourselves xD And they both still have a lot of growing to do :3 But we'll get there. Change is a gradual process.**

 **Also, I think I'm going to start downsizing the chapters? Unless you guys are fine with hella long ones. Up to you.  
**

 **Hi Guest! OC means original character and AU means alternate universe (in other words, not based on canon material)!**

 **Thank you for the kind reviews and the comments left on the previous chapter! I appreciate you guys being patient with me and sticking with this story even though I do updates once in a blue moon! You all are so sweet and I honestly am grateful for every single one of you! :)  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own GMW, buuuuuuuuut I do love tiramisu! That has to count for something, right?**

* * *

It was strange.

Lucas never expected he would get used to Maya Hart so quickly. But gradually, he stopped being thrown off by her closed off attitude. Ever since she'd finished another chunk of commission pieces, she'd become more relaxed and way less agitated though he wouldn't necessarily call her pleasant. Lucas had grown a little passive, not really expecting anything from her and wondering if maybe she wasn't as bad as his mind had thought she would be.

Sure, they got along (read: tolerated each other). But it was like the two of them were hanging by a thread at all times and even the smallest thing could set them off. They usually kept to themselves except for Maya popping up whenever she smelled dinner when he made it or if she asked him if he wanted takeout when he was working late.

She was like a cat. She spent all her time napping until she smelled food and then she slinked out to the kitchen before retiring to her bedroom or the couch once again. If he bothered her, he knew the claws would come out. Since they didn't tend to cross paths altogether readily—something he suspected was a conscious effort on both of their parts to not break the tentative truce—he grew more comfortable living with Maya.

They had been talking a little more. They still didn't run into each other often enough to have real conversations, but sometimes she would ask him questions about work or ask what was for dinner. And on especially good days for her, she would actually smile at him instead of smirk or sneer like she usually did.

Zay thought Lucas complained too much and that he should be grateful that at least he had a hot roommate. Lucas appreciated her looks—he did; she _was_ beautiful—but Maya was still a difficult person, and he hadn't yet cracked the code on how to handle her when she got a little rough.

But he supposed in their calm, Maya must have developed a certain level of comfort as well. Because the horror stories started, though they crept up on him before he could even see what was coming.

It was small things at first. She left trash in places around the apartment, slowly turning the living room into her second bedroom if Lucas didn't hurry up and clean it up before it got too messy. But before Lucas knew it, Maya was completely different than how she was when he first met her. And not in a good way.

Maya was not just a slob. She was _the queen_ of the slobs and so utterly lazy at times he questioned how she'd survived to adulthood. And it was honestly terrifying to see her gross habits starting to creep up in their shared spaces like the kitchen sink, and the bathroom, and especially the living room. The apartment was slowly becoming his worst nightmare, and Lucas was close to snapping at Maya to clean her shit up. There had to be some way to make her do what she needed to do.

Lucas walked into the apartment, wiping his brow of the sweat with one of his towels, feeling satisfied after he'd finished his jog in the park for the afternoon. It had been refreshing, a great cool down for a workout after a long day working and the weather had been just perfect. A slight heat reflecting the impending summer, but not hot enough to be stifling. Unsurprisingly, Maya was lounging on the couch in her typical large knit sweater, boredly flipping through channels.

"You're up," Lucas said, partly in surprise, partly in greeting as he tossed his keys in the bowl on the table beside the door.

Maya sat up, alert, giving him a quick once over. "Where'd you go off to? Hot date?"

He rose a brow, heading over to the fridge to grab a water to hydrate. Lucas did find it kind of weird that she was curious to know. It definitely wasn't in Maya's nature to inquire about his personal life like that. She seemed pretty wrapped up in what was going on in hers.

"I went out for a jog."

"Oh. What's for dinner? I'm hungry."

And there it was. The only reason she had an interest in conversing in the first place. But it was an improvement. And at least she wasn't grunting at him like some bear.

He uncapped his water, nearly chugging down half of the bottle. "So you waited for me to come back instead of making something for yourself or ordering out? How logical is that?"

"Trust me, you don't want me to cook. And Riley said I should budget my money more, so no takeout for the rest of the week." Maya rested her chin on the edge of the couch, giving him a puppy dog look. "Can you please make dinner? I'm really hungry."

Lucas sighed, opening the freezer and pulling out the lasagna he'd layered and prepped yesterday for tonight's dinner. He set the oven to the proper temperature to preheat.

"It'll take about seventy minutes to cook."

"I can wait. I'll just watch a movie or something."

"Or you know… do a round of laundry," Lucas drew out, eyeing Maya's pile of dirty, paint stained clothes in the living room in disgust. "I'm heading over to the laundromat in a bit."

"Cool," she said in disinterest, clearly ignoring his subtle jab.

"Are you not going to clean _your_ clothes?"

"They'll get dirty again within a week." She shrugged, going back to channel surfing apathetically. "Why bother?"

Lucas' jaw almost dropped in shock. Was she really that blasé about cleaning clothes? How could she possibly be okay with rewearing old, sweaty clothes with dead skin flakes and dirt and grime and dust and who knew what else from her room. It was appalling.

"Gee, I dunno…" he drawled sarcastically, gesturing to the pile resting against the wall near where Maya kept her small paint station, "there's a fucking pile of dirty laundry that's making my eyes water? When was the last time you cleaned all of this stuff?"

"You get used to the smell eventually."

"Whatever you want to do in your room isn't my business, but we share this space." He opened the oven and set the lasagna on the center rack. "I don't care how things worked before, but I am not living in an apartment that smells like shit."

"Good. Then leave," Maya said, turning up the volume on the TV.

Fists clenched and irritated by her dismissal, Lucas strode over, leaned down, and snatched the remote right from her hand. Before Maya even reacted, he had the TV shut off. The room fell almost dangerously silent, Maya sitting stiffly, her back ramrod straight and jaw clenched. She turned around slowly, glaring at him, her eyes looking like molten steel.

"You want your ass kicked?" Maya said calmly. "Keep holding on to that remote, Huckleberry."

"I'm serious, Maya. You need to do your laundry."

"And _you_ need to give me back that remote." Maya stood up, trudging around the couch and coming around to where Lucas was standing, her hand held out expectantly. "Now, Sundance."

He could sense the bloodlust in her expression, but this was not something he was going to back down on. Most times, it was easier to just let Maya have her way, but he refused to live in an apartment with dirty laundry hanging on surfaces with that scent of musk at every corner. Maya generally smelled good and Lucas wasn't opposed to the scent of a woman permeating the apartment, but B.O. infested clothes were out of the question.

"Not happening," he said, turning so he was facing her directly.

Lucas took one wide step back away from couch and held it way over his head. Sure, there was a possibility that Maya might try to use her nails on him, but he wasn't too scared of her. She was vicious when she wanted to be, but he was starting to think that Maya was only putting on a façade to guard herself.

"I mean it. I'm not afraid to hurt you!" She jumped up a couple times, trying and failing to reach the height he'd set. It was kind of funny in its own way, though he didn't dare laugh out loud. "Especially if you're making fun of my height!"

"I don't think you—"

She stomped on his foot angrily, and Lucas nearly yelped from the surprise shock of pain, grimacing though he kept his hand up. Clearly he'd underestimated her complete and utter lack of restraint.

"Would you just chill a second?!" Fuck, his foot was throbbing! For being so small and probably light, she'd been unbelievably ferocious in her attack. "You're being unreasonable. All I'm asking is for you to wash your clothes. Seriously, think about what it will be like to have guests over? Do you really think they'd want to hang out at a place that smells like a locker room? What if… what if your landlady randomly stops by one day? You're still trying to get on her good side. I don't think a pile of dirty laundry in the main room is going to help matters much."

He was kind of grasping for straws there, but one of his tactics had to work on her. After a few seconds of glaring at him, Maya sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Fine," she conceded with an exaggerated eye roll. "I'll do my damn laundry, but I don't know where the laundromat is."

He rose an incredulous brow. "You've lived here this long and don't know the apartment's laundromat is about a block down the street?"

"So?"

"…Have you ever washed your clothes?"

"Riley always did our laundry." Maya grumbled under her breath, looking a little bit embarrassed.

He snorted, tossing the remote control back on the couch. "What are you, a child?"

"What?" She snapped, heading to the small pile of clothes and stooping to start picking them up. "We each had our designated tasks in the apartment. She handled all that stuff."

Lucas looked away, pretending he hadn't just seen a glimpse of her panties under her giant sweater. "What we're yours? Let me guess: making sure Riley had dinner ready for you on the clock?"

She paused in gathering her clothes, giving him the evil eye over her shoulder.

"You're annoying."

"And you're a slob, Maya."

Lucas headed down the hall to get his own clothes to clean. Honestly. He couldn't fathom how it was so easy for her to ignore the huge mess. Had she lived in mess for so long that she was immune to how disgusting it was? Lucas couldn't imagine not cleaning his clothes at least every two to three weeks. His workout clothes, he cleaned every week, never rewearing the ones he'd used.

Peeling off his sweaty t-shirt, he tossed it in his laundry basket before rummaging in his dresser for something clean to wear.

"I'm not a slob." She called out from the hallway. "You're just uptight. Besides, my skillset was more along the lines of a handyman…"

Lucas turned around to find her staring at him unabashedly, brows a bit raised. He definitely caught the slight look of approval in her gaze. Was she checking him out? Part of him wanted to ask, but there could be unforeseen and horrible consequences if he got it wrong. And Maya seemed like the type of person to make fun of people for life.

"Do you have a bag for your laundry?" he asked, amused by her reaction but fighting his smirk.

"Does it look like I—"

He rolled his eyes, tossing her one of his smaller laundry sacks before she got into another one of her verbal tirades. She caught it deftly, shutting up in the process from the unprecedented toss.

"You'll need some change in quarters so grab that too." Lucas pointed out, pulling on his clean shirt. He grabbed detergent and then picked up his basket. "And something to entertain yourself for the wait."

"Yes, _Mom_."

~.~.~

LeBlanc's Laundry, the apartment affiliated laundry center was fairly empty when they walked in and Lucas headed over to a few of the machines in one of the emptier corners. He liked this place a lot. And since they lived in the apartment complex, they got a discounted price on loads.

"It smells great in here." Maya took a big, satisfying sniff of air. "Like fresh linens."

"So could your clothes if you only washed them more often."

She rolled her eyes. "Dudley Do Right."

"Short little stack of pancakes."

Maya sneered at him. "I don't like you."

"The feeling is mutual," he said, going through his loading process on autopilot through his mind. "Anyway laundry isn't that hard to do. You don't need to dump extra detergent in the machine to clean the clothes. It's pretty efficient on its own. If something has a tough stain, smear some on the stain then toss it in the machine. There are optimal temperatures and heats for different types of— are you listening to me?"

Maya tossed everything into one machine, poured a bunch of detergent in it, and slammed the lid closed.

"No. How hard can this be?" She dug in her purse for coins. "It's tossing clothes in, putting in the detergent, choosing the settings, and paying. I don't need a self-help guide."

"There are more economical ways to do laundry. You just used a shit ton more detergent than you needed."

"And if I wanted those economical methods, I would have asked. Seriously, Mr. Anal Retentive. Relax a bit," Maya grumbled under her breath, giving him a weird look as she started her machine. "Your explanations are unnecessary. Just tell me the basics, and I can get it. I'm not stupid." She jabbed him in the chest with her finger. "And don't you dare say 'could've fooled me' or any kind of equivalent or you'll end up in one of these machines."

He frowned but backed off a bit, knowing that he was getting a little overzealous about it. He couldn't help it though. He was a perfectionist, and Maya Hart herself was the anti-thesis of perfectionism. Just watching everything she did gave him hives. It was definitely something about himself he was hoping to cool off a bit in his new start, but old habits were hard to break. Especially after he'd just watched her put everything in one machine without care as to what could possibly get damaged by other cloths in the heavier setting. Maya was aggravating his attempts by being so damn indifferent.

"Fine," he finally replied.

What was it with her that she just didn't give two shits about anything she did? It bugged him. Lucas shook his head in disdain but continued to sort his clothes in his different machines, making sure any whites weren't accidentally tossed in with colour. He closed both lids and put his coins in the dispenser. Beside him, Maya dug through the laundry sack, a confused frown on her face.

"Crap. I left some stuff in the bag. Hey, can I put my things in your load?"

"Sure, I guess."

Maya opened one of his machines, stuffing the items in there and folding his clothes around it to cover it up. She gave him a thumbs up once she closed the machine back up and he started it.

Lucas honestly didn't know how he had ended up doing laundry with Maya Hart of all people—he didn't think Zay would ever believe him if he told him Maya had never done laundry before—but he supposed it was better than them fighting over who got the TV whenever he came back from work and she was sprawled on the couch. And she had looked genuinely interested in the whole process, a curiosity on her face as she set the knobs to a certain heat and what kind of wash she wanted. It was strange. She kind of seemed like a little kid, taken on a new adventure for the first time.

What kind of childhood had Maya led for going to a laundromat to be like a kid getting a lollipop? Her childlike excitement was kind of cute, though he would never tell her to her face, lest he get another stomp on the foot. Or punched.

"So what now?" Maya asked, yawning as she hopped up on a dryer nearby and kicked her legs back and forth.

Once again, her sweater rode up and Lucas averted his gaze when he caught a peek of blue, trying to be polite. Did she ever wear pants? In all the time he'd lived with her, he hadn't seen her wear pants once. That was apparently her thing, but it was precarious and every time she moved too much, she flashed her panties.

He cleared his throat, leaning against the adjacent machine and checking his emails. "We wait to move it in the dryer."

Her face scrunched in annoyance. "How long is the wash?"

"About 30 minutes. An hour to dry."

"Urgh. Too long. Wanna get gelato?"

"Gelato?" Lucas asked in confusion.

"At Amato's. An old Italian couple owns it. Best place to get gelato in SoHo." Maya hopped off of her machine and pointed to the building across from the laundromat. "I used to go there with Riley whenever we got into fights. I didn't realise we were across from it."

"I didn't know there was a gelato place in this area."

"Huh." Maya smirked. "So know-it-all Huckleberry doesn't know it all after all."

"I'm new to this place. I've only driven down this way a few times. What's your excuse?" His eyes narrowed. "You've lived here for years but you still didn't know where the laundromat was, yet it was right across from the gelato place you apparently frequented. Are you oblivious to everything you don't deem important or something?"

"Hey asshole, you really want to pick a fight right now?"

"I'm just stating facts," Lucas responded, feeling a spike of irritation. Did she always have to be so combative for every little thing? "And you definitely started it."

"How did I know you were the type to bring up who started what? What are you, a child?" she said derisively, adopting near the same tone he'd said the words with earlier.

"You just always have to have the last word, don't you?"

"So do you."

Lucas glowered at her, but Maya said nothing, staring up at him impassively, her eyes gleaming with that playful twinkle that never seemed to leave her person, even when she was being vicious. He was tempted to respond when she rose a brow, looking like she was challenging him and goading him to respond, but he refused to get roped into her stupid games. Why did he get the sense that Maya thought this verbal warfare was fun?

"Ha, I win," she murmured when he didn't answer.

That did it.

"Do you always have to be so patronizing? This isn't a competition, you know?"

"So why did you respond?" she sassed.

Lucas let out a long breath, willing himself not to let her words provoke him into another response. She was clearly seasoned at badgering people to the point of utter frustration and quite frankly, he didn't have time for that shit. He'd already played right into her hand.

Maya started laughing, heading on her way out and giving Lucas no choice but to follow her.

"Let's go, Huckleberry."

~.~.~

Amato's was definitely a high tier ice cream place. The place had a great scent of rich chocolate and the aroma of vanilla bean and nuts. The prices were a little high, but then again, it _was_ gelato. He could tell this was a place that didn't really have college kids and teens hanging around. Maybe that was a good thing. He could easily see some misguided teen hitting on Maya and then getting his teeth knocked out.

Lucas wasn't really a big fan of ice cream, but he had to admit it was pretty good. He'd said as much and Maya had grinned from ear to ear, looking quite pleased with herself. Her goofy sense of pride had made him smile unintentionally. Though he was still irritated with her. She apparently didn't have her wallet so Lucas ended up having to pay for her, something he believed was a calculated move on her part.

But overall, he did have to admit that sitting across from Maya at one of the tables, he wasn't as annoyed as he had been with her all afternoon. It was kind of cathartic, kicking back and enjoying ice cream on a hot day.

Maya's voice brought him out of his lethargic thoughts.

"So why did you move to New York?" she asked without prelude.

"Really? Because if I recall correctly—and I do—the last time I tried to explain you all but shat in my face."

Maya hid her smile behind a spoonful, clearly thinking their first meeting was hilarious. "The circumstances were different."

"Right…" Lucas said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "My mom and stepdad live here."

"Yeah, but what was the catalyst?" she pressed. "I get that you're probably a Momma's boy, but usually people don't pack up their whole lives and move to a new state just because their parent lives there. Plus, it seems to me like you really love Texas. I mean you've got like ten cowboy hats in your room."

He frowned, clearly detecting the mocking edge to her tone. "...I have _three_."

"Doesn't make it any better." She snickered. "So tell me why you moved, cowboy."

"I had a girlfriend named Clarissa back in Texas. She was perfect. Everything I could ever want in a woman. I was going to propose to her once we'd fully settled in our work until I caught her cheating with our neighbour. She tossed me out on my ass and here I am. New start."

"Wow." Maya looked genuinely apologetic. "That was a bitchy thing to do."

"Yeah."

"Though I saw that shit coming a mile away the minute you said she was perfect," she said nonchalantly, licking her spoon off.

Well that was kind of offensive. Did she think it was amusing that he'd gotten dumped?

"What, her dumping me?" Lucas growled, already on the defensive.

"Her cheating," she clarified.

"Why?" Lucas said hotly. What exactly was she implying anyway? "Is there something about me that's such a turn off that I'm the type of guy who would get cheated on easily?"

"No. If you keep your mouth shut, anyway." Maya added as an afterthought. "But you seem super hard to please unless someone's perfect. No wonder she sought out pleasure in other ways, not that I condone that behaviour at all."

"So what? I'm just not supposed to be satisfied in a relationship? I have certain tastes, you know?"

Maya sighed, setting her spoon into the empty bowl and holding Lucas' gaze seriously.

"You clearly have a lot to learn about life. Listen. You're entitled to have specific tastes in women. No one is telling you you can't have a type. The problem is that you held her to a certain standard—a certain _unrealistic_ standard of perfection—that anyone would be hard pressed to meet. That's a lot of pressure on a relationship especially if that wasn't who she was. And she wanted out. As someone who loathes people trying to get me to change to be their ideal, I don't blame her. I wouldn't stay in that relationship."

Lucas knew Maya had a real point, as much as he didn't want to admit it. Clarissa had said the same thing when she'd broken up with him. And Lucas knew he'd missed out on what kind of person Clarissa was because he'd been concentrating on the wrong things.

"The fact that she still stayed in the relationship with you while she knew she wasn't interested in the relationship anymore makes her a bitch though. Although…" Maya's lips curved up in a devious grin. "What I want to know is what she gained from it. Are you a sex god or something? Otherwise I can't see any other reason why any girl would stay with some uptight, asshole guy."

Was she serious?

Lucas gave her a blank look. "Not answering that question."

"C'mon. Inquiring mind wants to know."

"No."

"Stingy. But my point is, can you imagine having a boyfriend who views the world through a _perfection_ lens and calls you out if you're not up to par? That's intense. And kind of fucked up.

"Take me for example. Do you think I would ever want to be in a relationship with you when you nag me 24/7, hate the way I live my life and constantly poke at the differences with which you and I carry out the things we do? My lifestyle would be ruthlessly picked apart by you, and I'd want out within a week. Three days even."

"…I'm trying to work on that," he muttered, staring down at the melting gelato in his cup.

Put so bluntly, he would be hard pressed not to see why things didn't work out. Lucas knew his behaviour hadn't been stellar, but even as difficult as he might have been to be with, he'd still loved Clarissa enough to want to marry her. And he'd honestly thought he would have a future with her. The breakup had hit him hard and recounting all those memories was reminding him of how rough it had been afterwards, especially since he still blamed himself for the demise of their relationship. Part of him wanted to call her to make it right, but the other part of him was still sore about how she'd lied to him and cheated.

"I know." Maya shrugged, reaching over and taking Lucas' cherry and popping it into her mouth. "If it makes you feel a little better, you're slightly less dick-ish than when you first move in. By like .ooooooo5 percent."

"Gee thanks." Lucas drawled, leaning back in his chair with a raised brow.

"You just have to work on remembering that just because you're used to living your life your way doesn't mean it's the only way. I'm sure you get the _concept_ that people have different ways of life than you, but how you carry your life has to match up with that understanding that people are different. It's easy to forget that, but if you don't fix up the way you think, you'll alienate a lot of people. And probably make a few enemies along the way."

Lucas could tell she was speaking from experience. There was a sort of nostalgic look in her eyes, as if she was reminiscing. "Sounds like you've been through something like that before."

"Twice. Riley and I had a fallout in high school when she kept trying to make sure people's lives were exactly the way she thought they should live it." Maya twisted the cherry stem in her fingertips, trying to tie it into a knot. "She had a little problem with only seeing what she wanted to see and I got fed up. Those were a gruelling two weeks."

"And the second?" he asked, intrigued.

Her expression darkened. "Ex-boyfriend wasn't satisfied with me. He cheated. Nobody believed me because he's _such_ a nice guy and I'm _Maya_. So I moved to SoHo with Riley before our last year of college."

She'd sought out a fresh start just like Lucas after a bad end to a relationship. It surprised him. For the first time since meeting her, he'd finally found something they had in common, though it was unfortunate that it was because they both got cheated on.

"He sounds like a jackass."

Maya gave him an amused look. "You don't have to tell me twice."

"Did you not confront him or anything? Did you do anything at all?"

Maya shook her head. "Never got closure either. He calls every once in a while, but I'm not going to pick up."

Lucas nodded, but didn't respond. Old relationships were touchy topics and Maya definitely wasn't over this one. He could see the storm swirling in her blue-grays, and her expression had gone cold and closed off. He knew that she wasn't interested in discussing this anymore.

Their conversation was interrupted when a girl wearing a college sweatshirt approached their table.

"Excuse me. I don't mean to disrupt your date with your boyfriend—"

"Oh he's not my boyfriend," Maya corrected immediately. "He's a freeloader at my apartment."

Lucas rolled his eyes to the sky.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to assume. Ummm… You're Maya Hart, right?" she asked shyly, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Yupp. What can I do for you?"

"Okay, so I've been to your gallery like a thousand times and I've always wanted to meet you, but I've been so scared, but I'm a _huge_ fan of your work and you're my inspiration to get better at art. And my friends dared me to come over here and talk to you because they didn't think you were her, but I _knew_ you had to be Maya and oh wow, you're even more gorgeous in person. Anyway, I just wanted to say I love your art and I'm totally trying to save up to buy one of your pieces."

"Thank you." Maya smiled genuinely, and Lucas rose a brow, surprised at how friendly she was to the girl when not a few minutes ago, she'd been haranguing him. "Thanks for coming over and sharing that with me. It's an honour to have such a sweet fan like you. What's your name?"

"I'm Mindy."

"Well Mindy, do you want a picture?"

"Oh my God. Yes please! I'd like die of happiness."

"Okay." Maya chuckled, rising from her seat to take the picture with the girl.

Lucas watched the process in fascination. He was aware of Maya's rising fame, and he knew she'd created some pretty high profile paintings, but living with her, the edge of her fame kind of disappeared. It slipped his mind, especially since he'd gotten so used to her by now, but seeing people fawn over her was pretty interesting. He wondered if they would still fawn over her if they knew what she was really like.

Once Mindy had gotten her picture and said her goodbyes, Maya plopped back down, her customary indifferent expression back on her face.

"Must be interesting to be famous."

"I wouldn't necessarily say famous." Maya yawned, stretching her arms above her head and once again reminding Lucas of a cat. "I'm just well-known in these parts and a few other places in New York."

"Has it changed the way you live?"

"Nope. Fame is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Once I'm no longer of use, do you really think rich clientele and people who don't know Maya the person will stick around? I much prefer the company of my close friends."

She was pretty humble for being a recognized capable artist with fairly high popularity. And he found it interesting that she hadn't let it get to her head even though she definitely had every reason to.

"You're surprisingly wise," Lucas stated.

"The term is street-smart," Maya said, eyeing his gelato. "You grow up that way when your father deserts you, your mom works three jobs and you only get to see her about twice a week, you work a bajillion hours a week, water bill and electricity gets cut off every once in a while, etc. I may not have been the best school wise, but I feel like I do life pretty well all things considered."

That was pretty shocking. What surprised him the most was how blasé she seemed about it all. If he'd grown up that way, he would absolutely not know where he would be. Suddenly, he could see why Maya was so rough around the edges. It was definitely strange, but knowing a little about how she grew up and seeing who'd she become in spite of that made her success that much more incredible.

"…I think that's an accurate statement."

"Huh?"

"All things considered, yeah. You do life pretty well even though I still don't agree with your messiness."

She looked at him in surprise. "Unexpected. But appreciated."

Maya was much smarter than he gave her credit for. And possibly much more aware than the Maya who he generally saw lazing about in the apartment. He felt kind of stupid for coming to that revelation now, but there was more to Maya than met the eye, and it was probably necessary that he stopped letting his preconceived notions get in the way of learning who Maya was. If he cut that out, maybe they'd have better interactions.

Although, she was still irritating as all get out. And she made him really appreciate his friendships with the people who didn't make his life living hell.

"You gonna eat that?" She pointed to the gelato, licking her lips playfully.

"Uh, no." He pushed it over. "Not really a fan of sweets to be honest."

"More for me then," she singsonged. She took it happily, taking an eager bite. "Are you a health nut or something?"

"Yeah, my mom was really health conscious. It carried over to me," Lucas replied, remembering how no one would ever assign his mom on snack duty for football games. "So why'd you want to come here?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said I used to come here with Riley after fights."

"…So what you're saying is you wanted to bring me here because we fought? We've been fighting for a week Maya. You just now decided to clear the air?"

She made a face. "You're not exactly someone I feel motivated to apologize to, you know? Because you say shit like that like a put down, you damn annoying Huckleberry."

"It's not exactly unprovoked." His eyes narrowed. "Sometimes you specialize in being a bitch. For example, your uncanny ability to start a fight no matter what the conversation."

"Okay, you know what? Let's just stop," Maya said in exasperation. "Look. I know I'm angry and aggressive and I'm jaded and I'm pretty guarded. And I know I'm not the… _easiest_ roommate to live with, so consider me treating you as an apology."

"But you didn't treat me…" he deadpanned sarcastically. "I paid for both of them."

"That's not the point. Can you just listen?" She snapped. "Look at the bigger picture. This is my halfway attempt. Now are you going to meet me halfway too or are we going to sit here arguing over semantics?"

Why did he feel like she would continue this trend of never paying for anything?

"Yeah," he said. "But only if you stop leaving piles of your dirty laundry in the living room."

"Where else am I supposed to put it? There's no space in my room."

"And who's fault is that? Maybe if you cleaned your room, that wouldn't be a problem."

Maya's eyes narrowed dangerously, a treacherous glint in the sparkling blue. She looked like she was gearing up to fight him so Lucas quickly intervened before she brought the claws out and pounced.

"Look. Then how about this? If I work on my 'anal retentiveness', you work on leaving your dirty clothes in the living room and bathroom. And your aggressions. Compromise."

"And your controlling nature," Maya added. "That's got to go too."

"And you need to cook occasionally. I can't be the only one making dinner all the time."

"Do you really want to go to the ER?" she said dryly. "There are safer ways."

"Okay then. Raincheck on that then." Maya kept commenting that her cooking was hazardous, but Lucas didn't really believe it. There was no way someone was that bad. "We'll start with those and work from there."

She smirked, reaching her hand across the table. "Put 'er there, partner!"

"Those cowboy phrases and nicknames have got to go too," he grumbled in annoyance, shaking her outstretched hand firmly.

"Baby steps, Huckleberry. Baby steps."

~.~.~

Lucas opened up his machine and a red item tumbled out. Confused, he bent to pick it up, unravelling the little ball and holding it up to see what it was.

They were a pair of red panties, much like the blue ones Maya had been wearing. His mouth went dry.

"What the hell?"

"What?" Maya turned from loading a dryer and when she saw what was in his hands, she gasped softly, snatching them out of his hands angrily. "Don't touch my panties, you perv!"

"They were in my machine! It's not my fault."

And then he froze. He'd opened up the machine with his white clothes just now. Feeling a sense of dread, he peered into the machine and saw pink. Pink shirts. Pink tanks. Pink socks. All pink. Maya snorted beside him, cracking up over his predicament.

"Damn! All of your white clothes are fucked up."

"It's not funny." He picked one of the pink work shirts up. "You wrecked a lot of my clothes because you put your red underwear in my white wash! My lab coat is in there!"

"Sorry." Maya chewed on her lower lip to keep from laughing. "It's not my fault you didn't specify which machine I should put it in."

Really?

"What human being doesn't know that colours and whites don't go in the same machine?!"

"I told you I didn't do laundry when I was younger. I held like ten part time jobs! I didn't have time to learn."

"You apparently didn't have time to learn generic human skills either. Like basic hygiene."

Maya threw the detergent at him which he barely caught before it made contact with his face.

"Asshole! Just because I didn't clean my clothes doesn't mean I'm not always clean."

"You're a clueless health hazard," he snapped.

Lucas didn't even care that some of the other people in the laundromat were giving them weird looks. He knew they were making a scene, but he was pissed off and Maya's complete lack of care over this abomination was irritating him. She'd screwed up a lot of his clothes and her first reaction was to laugh.

"Calm down, you Huckleberry. Just put your shit in bleach and they'll be right back to normal!"

He paused, a frown on his face. Huh. He'd forgotten about that. She was right.

At his silence, a smirk grew on Maya's lips, her face looking so smug he almost resented himself for even thinking she was right for a second. He knew she could read her apparent victory on his face.

"Hah!" She pointed a finger at him. "Who's the clueless person now?"

"It's still you by far."

"You're just mad because you were throwing a hissy fit, and I came up with a simple solution."

Lucas rolled his eyes, setting his detergent on the ground. "You're paying for the new load of laundry and reimbursing me for the one you ruined. And if my clothes don't clear up, you're paying for new ones too."

"Oh c'mon. Seriously? The clothes are still clean albeit a different colour than when they entered the machine. And the bleach will wipe the colour out."

"There's no guarantee. And it might take a couple tries."

"Don't be mad." Maya poked him in the side. "It's kind of funny. One day, you'll remember this situation and laugh."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah? You think so?"

Lucas reached in the machine and pulled out the other identical pair of red panties he'd found in the mix. He dangled it in front of her face, watching her expression transform from amused to wide eyed and slightly embarrassed.

"Give those back!"

Maya tried to snatch it out of his hand, but he held it up over his head, raising a brow and watching her attempt to pull his arm down or reach the top. He saw her every day, but Maya honestly was really short.

"Come now. Don't be mad, Maya," he stated, imitating the exact way she'd made her comment. "One day, you'll remember this situation and laugh."

"Stop using your height against me!" she growled, rising to her tiptoes and nearly grappling with his shirt to try to get higher. "It's not funny."

He smirked. "Actually, this is kind of funny."

Lucas knew he was being childish, but it was honestly amusing to see her struggle to get her stuff. He'd have to remember to use his height to his advantage more in the future.

(At least until Maya stomped on his foot, _hard_ , and pain ripped through his leg).

Or maybe not.


End file.
